Green and Black: Together Again
by Pink Wolf Princess
Summary: It's time for bed for Ziggy & Dillon.
1. Chapter 1: Anniversary

I have no idea if I can do this but I'm doing my own kind of challenge.... kind of like the Romance Challenge except this one is for friends. :)

But I don't own Power Rangers or the song referenced at the end.

This one takes place between the episodes "Ranger Green" and "Ranger Red".

1: Anniversary

Dillon's day did not improve when he went down into the kitchen and Ziggy plopped a large yellow-iced cake in front of him seconds after he had sat down. He looked up at the cheerful Green Ranger.

"Ziggy, what is this?"

"It's a cake!" Ziggy shrugged happily. He was still holding the spatula he had used to ice the cake with. "Lemon with lemon icing. I thought you might like that."

Bemused, Scott asked as he entered the area, "I think Dillon is asking why you made him a cake."

The other three Rangers had been a lot nicer to Ziggy since the truth about why he had left Corinth had come out, so Flynn and Summer strolled over as well. With a roll of his eyes Ziggy exclaimed, "Don't tell me you all forgot!"

"Just because I have computer implants doesn't mean I have a computer's memory, Ziggy," Dillon commented, reaching out a finger to scoop up some icing. Ziggy smacked him on the hand with the spatula.

"Not yet, Dillon."

Rolling his eyes, Dillon resigned himself to licking off the icing the spatula had left behind on the back of his hand. Summer giggled slightly. Scott tried again.

"What's with the cake, Ziggy?"

"It's a celebration!" he replied, beaming. Having finished the icing Dillon said wryly, "A celebration of what, though?"

Ziggy looked around at his earnestly confused teammates.

"You mean you don't remember?" he asked, crestfallen. Dr. K. poked her head out of her lab.

"I believe Ranger Green is referring to the fact that it has been one month to the day since he and Ranger Black arrived in Corinth."

"Thank you!" Ziggy exhaled happily. "For that you get the first piece of cake."

"You eat cake? I thought you just blew out the candles," Dr. K. puzzled. Flynn turned to her.

"Where were you _raised_, doc? In a military think tank?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I was," she retorted before retreating back into her lab. The five Rangers stared after her. Raising her eyebrows Summer sighed, "Well, that explains more than it doesn't."

Undeterred Ziggy had begun slicing the cake.

"Well, if she doesn't want any, you can have the first slice, Dillon. It's more our anniversary than anything because that was the day we met."

"You two have a weird friendship," Scott observed, but hung around for his slice of cake. Afterwards, as he and Ziggy ate up the rest of the cake Dillon pulled an envelope out of his Ranger jacket's pocket.

"Here."

Opening it, Ziggy found a colorful card inside. When he opened it, it started to play "It's Not Easy Being Green".

Ziggy smiled.

If you want more, review & tell me so!


	2. Chapter 2: Reassurance

"Give me one good reason to take you with me."

"Shadow puppets. Brilliant shadow puppets."

Any Ziggy/Dillon friendship-shipper knows THOSE lines from "Fade to Black". But alas, I don't know them or anything Power Rangers… save a DVD of the Mighty Morphin movie, a sticker sheet, and a couple PR action figures. Ahem.

2: Reassurance

Although Dillon would never tell Ziggy this, he had already decided that wherever or however he left the jail, he'd find a way to bring Ziggy with him. When he had decided this he wasn't sure. As they headed up to the cafeteria for lunch Dillon could at least review the real reasons he was taking Ziggy with him while Ziggy recited a litany of other, improbable reasons.

First off, Dillon didn't know any one else. Ziggy and his locket were the only things grounding him to this world. And Dillon knew he could trust Ziggy with his life.

Second, the guy was funny without even meaning to. While there were giant blasters going off at them, Ziggy was going on about clarinets… whatever a clarinet was. And the shadow puppet thing was pretty funny too. Although Ziggy didn't seem half-bad at those.

Third, he owed his name to Ziggy. Somehow the guy had gotten him to choose a new name for himself. Whether that meant a new life as well, Dillon didn't know. But he wanted Ziggy there when he found out.

Fourth, Ziggy wouldn't be in jail if it weren't for him. Maybe he should have left Ziggy out in the Waste if he was just going to end up in jail. That was what Ziggy had wanted, anyway. So why hadn't Dillon let Ziggy out? Maybe the two of them had already become friends by then.

Fifth, Dillon was tired of being alone even if he wanted to deny it. He had a feeling that Ziggy would squirm his way through any barriers he might put up. It'd be nice to find out what friendship was exactly.

Sixth… well, there wasn't really a good sixth reason except that Dillon had found himself attached to the guy. Maybe it was because he was so human where Dillon had lost a part of that. Maybe it was because he never shut up!

"Ziggy!"

Abashed, the younger man shut his mouth just as they reached the cafeteria. Not allowing his gaze to gentle Dillon informed Ziggy, "I'm not leaving you here to torture the good citizens of Corinth. Now shut up, please."

"Yeah!" Ziggy beamed. "When are we breaking out?"

_It's a good thing we don't know each other better,_ Dillon mused. _Otherwise Ziggy might have hugged me._


	3. Chapter 3: Cloud Watching

If there's more reviews, I'll write about you guys. (hopeful smile) And nope, I have no possession of the Power Ranger franchise. This one takes place the day before "Ranger Blue", and starts out entirely dialogue.

3: Cloud Watching

"I see a puppy."

"I don't."

"Oh, come on. It's right there."

"I still don't see it."

"Look. I'm pointing right at!"

"That? It's a blob."

"Hey- an ice cream cone!"

"That's your stomach talking, Ziggy, not your eyes."

"No, really. That one, over there."

"I don't know… it kind of looks like a lollipop."

"See? Is this so hard?"

"Yes."

"Buu."

"What was **that**?"

"A raspberry."

"No, a raspberry is a type of fruit. Flynn has me well-versed on fruit due to his many interrupted smoothie making sessions. So I might not know what that was, but it wasn't a raspberry."

"Never mind."

A pause.

"Hey! Look! It's Dr. K.'s sound cannon!"

"What exactly does that thing do, anyway?"

"You don't want to know."

"You might be right."

"I wonder what would happen if you used it on a girl…"

"That was random. I hope."

"Aw, a teddy bear!"

There was a pause.

"They're not real, you know."

"I know."

"Probably Hicks or Vasquez has programmed them to take on random shapes at certain times. It's probably choreographed."

"I know."

Dillon turned his head slightly to look at Ziggy. The two of them were lying on the grass in the park, the Fury parked a few meters away. Their Ranger jackets were back in the Garage.

"Then remind me again why we're doing this?"

"Because no way are you going through life without knowing that you've cloud watched at least once."

"But why?"

Propping his head up on his elbow, Ziggy smiled at the older man, who was clearly confused.

"Because we're friends, that's why."

"That works," Dillon admitted, resettling into the grass. Intertwining his fingers, Ziggy rested them behind his head. For a minute they just let the temperate, sunny day flow by. Computed, white, puffy clouds drifted by on the inner surface of the protective dome shielding Corinth. Then Dillon pointed at one of them.

"That one looks like the symbol on the back of your Ranger jacket. You know, a mix of a 4 and a shark."

Ziggy smiled. It was a start.


	4. Chapter 4: Buddies

Here's a funny scene from before "Three's a Crowd". It involves poor Flynn and his beloved smoothies. And nope, don't own the Power Rangers. Just the idea for the plot.

4: Buddies

Ziggy had been trailing Dillon all over the Garage all morning, begging and pleading. Unmoved, Dillon had been replying 'no' every time. Scott and Summer had left early in the morning; Scott to visit some friends from the Air Force and Summer to visit her parents. The twins were off exploring Corinth. Dr. K. was shut up her lab to get away from Ziggy's noise. At length Flynn left off his smoothie making to go over the pair. Dillon had by this point locked himself in the Fury, blasting the radio at full volume, while Ziggy remained right outside the door. Arms akimbo Flynn demanded, "What is going on?"

"What?" both yelled over the radio. Dillon turned it down, but when that caused Ziggy to resume his begging he turned it back up, albeit slightly lower. Louder Flynn asked, "What in the name of molasses is going on?"

Ziggy and Dillon began talking at the same time.

"He won't let me call us-"

"He insists that we're-"

"Buddies!" they finished. Looking at their affronted expressions Flynn couldn't help but smile.

"I hate to break it to you, Dillon, but…"

"I'm right!" Ziggy cheered, throwing his arms up into the air. Dillon's shoulders slumped, but he unlocked the car and got out as Ziggy did multiple victory poses.

"When did this happen?"

Flynn just smiled wider. Ziggy started to dance, chanting, "We're buddies, we're buddies, we're buddies, we're buddies, we're buddies."

Dillon glared at him, but all three knew there wasn't any really anger in him at Ziggy. There had never even been annoyance in Dillon's emotions towards Ziggy.

"We're buddies, we're buddies, we're buddies, we're buddies, we're buddies, we're buddies, we're-"

Dillon picked Ziggy up by the back collar of his Ranger jacket.

"Please be quiet."

Sheepish, Ziggy stopped chanting. Then he looked up hopefully at Dillon.

"So… you admit we're buddies?"

Flynn folded his arms across his chest during the pause. At length Dillon sighed and replied, "_Best_ buddies."

Ziggy's face lit up.

Flynn was about to return to his smoothie when the alarm began to blare. Over the intercom Dr. K.'s voice said, "Rangers, head out," before giving the coordinates. Going over to his Hummer Flynn complained, "Sweet mother of molasses! I never get to finish my smoothie!"

In the Fury Ziggy and Dillon just exchanged grins and a fist bump, now that the question of terminology about their friendship was settled.


	5. Chapter 5: Faith

Middle of "Ranger Green". Next time I'll acknowledge you reviewers, okay?

5: Faith

After talking to Fresco Bob, Summer and Dillon were heading back to the Garage in silence.

"Dillon…"

"Don't go there, Summer," Dillon nearly growled. What they had gotten out of the cartel boss didn't look good for the Black Ranger's best friend.

"I was just going to say, Ziggy might not have been the same person then as he is now. I know I'm not the same person I was 13 months ago. Far from it."

Dillon looked over at her, distracted from the issue at hand by the idea.

"Really? What were you like? Because I can't see you any other way than the way you are now."

Summer's cheeks flooded.

"VERY different. But that's not the point. It just could be the same with Ziggy. I mean, the cartels had to be even worse of an influence than you," Summer teased him gently. Dillon snorted slightly.

"Ziggy was born Ziggy. I'm sure he has a good explanation for what happened to the medicine."

"Uh-huh, like the two of you did for crashing into Corinth?"

"That was all me," Dillon retorted wryly. "Well… Ziggy gave me directions. Hey- do you think whatever went down with the cartels is why Ziggy left Corinth?"

"Could be."

Then came another pause. After a few minutes Summer stopped and grabbed Dillon's forearm, forcing him to look her in the eye.

"Dillon, Ziggy might not be who he seems to be."

No," Dillon shook his head without reservations. "I'm the one who has no idea who he is. Ziggy is the one who can't hide who he is."

Summer raised her eyebrows.

"Oh really?"

"More or less," Dillon replied. "Look, it's Ziggy, all right? I'd trust him with my life. Besides, the guy can't even manage a proper car-jacking. No way he could do something so absurdly selfish as steal $5 million in medicine supplies and get away with it."

With that Dillon marched on down the street. For a minute Summer just stood there, trying to process why Dillon would have that kind of faith in Ziggy of all people. Then she realized something.

"Dillon, you aren't speaking from personal experience, are you?"

"About what?" Dillon called.

"About the car-jacking, of course!"

Dillon shot her a bright smile.

"Considering the whole amnesia thing, I don't really have a choice except from direct, extremely recent personal experience, now do I?"

"Dillon!" Summer yelped, not knowing to be shocked or amused. But Dillon just kept grinning.

It's hard, no, impossible to have a Ziggy & Dillon friend-fic without including the gals in their lives- Dr. K. & Summer. So there'll be touches of real fluff intermixed with all the friend-fluff.


	6. Chapter 6: Nadir

Hello again. Yep, don't own the Power Rangers. How did you know?

Hiya to Rachel; a thank you to PinkRangerV; JasonTKD- I loved your review in part because it was funny and in part because it was oh-so-true; to bunyipbabe- I'm older than you, so there, it's okay to still like cartoons (and better Power Rangers, which had actual plotlines across episodes than, say, Hannah Montana which doesn't- clearly I don't own Hannah Montana either); and thanks to M14Mouse. Um… I haven't figured out how to find the themes on livejournal, but it's okay since I have now made up my own like I did for this friend-fic. Like the Ars Amatoria challenge, both sets have 60 titles.

This one takes place after 'Go for Green', because I hated how they did cliffhangers and never fully explained them (further reaction to Ziggy & then K; then K's big reveal; and then reaction to Gem & Gemma; and finally WAY too many loose ends at the end).

6: Nadir

Scott, Flynn, and Summer were all off in their rooms. They said they were trying to process what the heck had just happened, but Ziggy knew what they were really doing. Sulking and wondering if there was any chance of undoing the damage Ziggy had inadvertently caused by becoming the Green Ranger.

So Ziggy was doing a bit of sulking himself. After that scare with Fresco Bob earlier he didn't dare leave the safety of the Garage… but the way he could sense Dr. K. glaring at him through the computer screen had been creeping him out. In the end he had gone up onto the roof to hide. Yeah, there had probably been some other, better way to deal with Tenaya (cuze him, Tenaya 7) and keep her from bonding with the Green morpher… but he hadn't been thinking all that straight at the time.

Lying flat on his back, with the shadows growing all around him, Ziggy felt more lonely than he had ever felt before. And there had been some times where he had felt pretty lonely.

"Ziggy?"

It sounded like Dillon, but Dillon would never sound so… gentle. Just as Ziggy had decided he had imagined it Dillon's face appeared over his.

"I won't bother asking you if you're okay, since I know you're not."

Ziggy just sighed, making Dillon's hair flutter slightly. Dillon raised his eyebrows, moving to lie down beside Ziggy.

"You're not talking. Maybe I should just enjoy the silence, huh?"

Ziggy turned onto his side, propping his head up with his hand. Almost inaudibly he asked, "Do you think I'll get a jacket?"

Dillon didn't ask what he meant. Lifting up his arm to study the sleeve of his own Ranger jacket he had to admit, "I don't know. That's up to Dr. K. and Scott."

"I'm surprised they haven't taken away my morpher yet," Ziggy admitted, flopping onto his stomach. He looked at the morpher more closely.

"It seems not very… imposing."

"Yeah, but it is," Dillon chuckled.

"So true."

"Ziggy, when they try to take the morpher from you- because let's face it, they will- what will you do?"

"I'm probably one of the last people that should become a Ranger, but I am now one whether anyone likes it or not."

"You didn't answer my question."

Made slightly wary by Dillon's peculiarly mild tone, Ziggy nonetheless answered frankly.

"I wouldn't give it up without a fight. 'Cause it's mine now, no matter who should have gotten it. Now it's mine."

From the moment he had brought down the morpher onto his wrist, Ziggy had felt a click within himself. Like he had finally done something undeniably right for once in his life. That's why it hurt so bad when everyone else knew that it was wrong of him to have bonded with the morpher. Because that is what he had done with it- he had bonded with it. Reaching over, Dillon tousled Ziggy's hair fondly.

"And that's why, in the end, they'll let you keep it. No matter how much they might want to think otherwise, when it gets down to it… you're the one meant to be the Ranger Series Operator Green. And I'm at least happy for you for both of us."

"Huh?"

"I'm happy for you 'cause I think it'll be good for you to be a Ranger. It builds character- something we both need to do. And well, you're the only person in Corinth that I actually like."

"You don't know all that many people," Ziggy felt compelled to point out. But Dillon just shook his head at him before retorting, "And I don't want to know all that many people, thank you. But you'll be good for the team, I think. The rest of us, including me, are way too serious."

"No kidding."

"Look, right now maybe all of us are at rock bottom," Dillon conceded. "But all that means is that there's nowhere to go but up."

As the last rays of the artificial sun crept away from the faces, Ziggy thought about what Dillon had said. In the end he could only joke-

"Or someone could toss us a shovel and tell us to keep digging."

Dillon just snorted.

"Yeah, you're going to keep everyone hopping as the Green Ranger."

"Ribbit," Ziggy agreed. More seriously he added, "I guess neither of us is lonely anymore, huh?"

Even though he knew it was crazy, Dillon thought he could hear Ziggy's heartbeat filling in the gaps between his own heartbeat in the newly born darkness. Quietly he reassured his friend.

"As long as we have each other, we won't be lonely. If necessary we'll go off and form our own mini Ranger team. _That'll_ stick a hard drive up Dr. K.'s butt."

"Dillon!" Ziggy laughed. Dillon just grinned, even though in the dark Ziggy couldn't see it.

"What? It would. Unless Dr. K. doesn't have a butt… which wouldn't surprise me."

"Dillon? Ziggy?" came Scott's voice from the bottom of the stairwell. He didn't sound quite so angry anymore… more like a mixture of resignment and resentment. "Come on down. We need to talk before dinner."

"Mine," Ziggy muttered to himself, running his other hand over his morpher. Dillon nodded firmly.

"Yours."

"We're a team, right?" Ziggy asked as they got up.

"Yeah… although unfortunately for us Scott, Flynn, and Summer are also part of that team."

"True," Ziggy had to admit. All the morphers were linked somehow, in a way Dr. K. would probably refuse to acknowledge. That meant he was linked to the other Rangers now in a similar way.

"Rangers forever?" he asked as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Rangers forever," Dillon agreed as they began to descend into the light.


	7. Chapter 7: Apology

Hiya. This is an explanation for why Dillon brushed off Ziggy at the beginning of 'If Venjix Won'. Virtual candy corn for anyone who reviews (unless you're vegetarian, then it's virtual kettle corn).

Oh, I've tweaked 'Nadir'. Feel free to check it out. AND have you all heard the awesome news? Saban has bought back Power Rangers from Disney and is producing an 18th season. You heard me right. _I_ don't own the Power Rangers, but Haim Saban does.

7: Apology

Once the initial relief over the fact that Ziggy and Dr. K were safe and sound had worn off everyone went off. Dr. K had retreated into her lab as usual; Scott had driven off in his car; Flynn had left to visit his dad; Summer left to do the weekly grocery shopping; and the twins were off doing what they did best- wrecking havoc.

Humming happily, Ziggy was puttering around in the kitchen, making something that resembled what would happen if pepperoni pizza and French bread decided to mix and match. For his part Dillon sat in silence on the third from the bottom step leading upstairs to the Ranger quarters.

Dillon studied the younger man closely. Every energy-packed mud-hued curl; each sharp, Robin Goodfellow like angle on his face; the scrappy, lean body that had gained muscle tone over the past months- not a lot, but more than either he or Dr. K acknowledged; the bright eyes that by turns were astonishingly naïve and astonishingly astute; and of course the deft, pickpocket fingers that were currently tweaking the dough. All of this Dillon pressed into his memory to hold for as long as he could… which might not be all that long. The thought made him worry. Who would look after Ziggy once he was, for all intents and purposes, gone? Even now he wasn't exactly doing a very good job of it, as today had proved.

Ziggy enjoyed cooking, always had. He might have pulled K's leg about learning how to do so in prison; in truth he had learned how to cook in the orphanage. It complemented and/or eased away any emotion at all he might be feeling. But just because he was focusing on cooking his stromboli didn't mean he wasn't oblivious to the world around him.

Through the wall he could hear K playing her violin. It was a happier song than her norm; it was a little much to hope that his shadow puppet show had had something to do with that. Other than that it was quiet.

There wasn't anything weird about Dillon staring so hard at him. Too weird, anyway. But since Dillon was being still even for him Ziggy took the chance of looking at his best friend more closely than he usually did.

Floppy brown hair that had a habit of aiding and abetting Dillon when he wanted to keep his feelings a secret; a soft pink scar that juxtaposed with one of his eyebrows; deep brown eyes that took in a lot and didn't let a lot out; a jaw and mouth either extremely encouraging or totally terrifying depending on his mood; a build somewhere between lanky and sturdy; and a way of blending into the shadows unless he wanted to stand out, when he stood out with a vengeance.

"Worried about the whole nearly-to-the-point-of-no-return thing?" Ziggy tried. He didn't know what else would have Dillon acting so dark.

"No. Well, not exactly," was the eventual reply. "Ziggy, I need to apologize to you."

"For something beyond your control? No need," Ziggy waved it off, preparing the stromboli for the oven. Dillon smiled wryly.

"This I need to apologize for. Look, what happened today- you and doc getting in trouble. I could have prevented it."

"How?" Ziggy asked, amused, brushing his flour-dusted hands off on his lime green apron. "You're not invincible."

"No, but I could have paid a little more attention to you instead of my own problems. Then I would have gone with you, and those Grinders wouldn't have been a problem."

"So… because you were in an understandably bad mood over slowly being turned into an evil attack-bot it's your fault that me and K ended up in trouble."

Dillon reflected on this for a bit while Ziggy placed the stromboli in the oven. By the time Ziggy had closed the oven door and turned to face him Dillon had his answer ready.

"That sounds about right."

"Dillon," Ziggy sighed. "You're allowed not to want to be social with everything you have on your plate."

"Still… I'm sorry. I just… I can't lose you guys. But I'm going to, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

Somberly Ziggy walked over and sat down next to his closest friend. Mute, he wrapped an arm around Dillon's shoulders. Neither accepting nor rejecting the apology, they sat like that until they fell asleep.

Meaning that Dr. K had to come out of her lab and use the fire extinguisher when the stromboli caught on fire because it had stayed in the oven for too long.


	8. Chapter 8: On The Town

This one takes place after 'Ranger Green' and probably before my fanfic 'Anniversary'. In case you haven't heard, I don't own the Power Rangers but Haim Saban does. And there's a PJ reference… but Rick Riordan owns PJ, not me.

8: On the Town

"Seriously, Dillon? You barely leave the Garage," Ziggy complained, following Dillon down the stairs. "I got you to Corinth, and I can show you around Corinth!"

"And get you kidnapped by the cartels again? No thank you," Dillon snorted. Ziggy rolled his eyes.

"That was a one time thing! Besides, after doc scared them with her sound cannon I doubt they'll come after me again."

Dillon made a noncommittal sound.

"Great! After lunch sounds good to you?" Ziggy asked before dashing off to his training session with Dr. K. Dillon exhaled wearily. How did Ziggy do that?

So after a lunch of PB&J sandwiches the two friends left the Garage on foot, their Ranger jackets left behind in the Fury. Allowing Ziggy to skip ahead of him slightly Dillon asked, "Where to first?"

"The candy store!" Ziggy proclaimed. Both of them knew about Dillon's sweet teeth.

After a complete pig out at the candy store Ziggy showed Dillon around the park and then the beach. When Dillon asked how the heck could there be a beach under the dome Ziggy shrugged and told him to ask doc.

Then they toured the miniature Statue of Liberty… although to Dillon it didn't seem all that small. But Ziggy insisted that it was. They got hot dogs and cotton candy there, eating them as they toured downtown. Because of the odd cartel members Ziggy spotted they had to take occasional detours. After that they headed into the center of the city. Dillon saw a lot of businesses and houses there… some of them quite spacious and elaborate. That struck him as somewhat unfair, but who was he to judge? Not even Dillon knew.

For a while they just stared up at the command tower.

"What if it fell down?" Dillon asked, having finished off his cotton candy. Considering how it was just hanging from the zenith of the dome, it seemed to be a valid query to him.

"Five words," and Ziggy counted them off on his morpher hand. "That would be real bad."

They continued to visit places around Corinth, but as the virtual sun dipped lower and lower in the virtual sky the two ended up walked along the city wall. Standing under the spot where the 'sun' was setting, Ziggy asked, "So did you like the tour?"

"Not bad," Dillon conceded. "But let's go back to the Garage."

"Home sweet home," Ziggy half-joked as they headed back into the city.


	9. Chapter 9: Reaching Out

This one takes place between two episodes… guess which ones. (No worries, it'll be fairly obvious)

Nope, don't own the Power Rangers. Haim Saban does!

9: Reaching Out

Ziggy pinched himself when he felt himself falling asleep. Hard.

Why am I doing this to myself? Ziggy asked himself. Then he heard Dillon's restlessness in the bed across the room, and remembered the answer. He had just almost forgot in the midnight darkness of the Garage.

With a heavy, yet almost inaudible, exhale Dillon rolled out of bed and left the room. Like a second shadow Ziggy followed.

At the top of the stairs Dillon turned around to see Ziggy a few feet behind him. With a quiet smile he told the other, "Go to bed, Ziggy."

"You need me awake," Ziggy responded stubbornly. Dillon just turned away and headed down the stairs. Taking them two at a time Ziggy did the same. With Dillon on one side and Ziggy on the other they looked at each other from across the kitchen table, a single light shining down on them.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You know very well what."

"No, I don't."

"Yes you do."

"No I don't."

Deciding that the current vein of conversation was pointless, Ziggy opted to just raise his eyebrows at Dillon instead.

There was silence for a long time.

"I just can't believe she's been keeping secrets."

The 'from me' hung unspoken in the air.

"It's not exactly something she wanted, or even wants, to talk about. I mean, I can tell the first time this Chaz guy tries to put a move on her he's going up end up in the hospital."

That idea momentarily perked up Dillon, but he soon grew gloomy again.

"I can not see Summer married to a guy named Chaz."

"But you can see her married to a guy without a real name?" Ziggy pointed out. Dillon refused to meet his friend's eyes. That was more than enough answer.

"Oh, boy. You have the love bug about Summer than I do about K!"

"Please," Dillon winced. "My head is really messed up right now- the last image I need in it is the two of you making out."

Ziggy rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, watching you actually all but turn into an actual pile of mush over Summer isn't all that much better."

The two eyed each other. In the end Dillon could only sigh, "Just when I thought my life couldn't get any worse…"

"You really love her, don't you?"

"Yeah."

Then Dillon realized what he had just admitted to and all but jumped out of his chair.

"DON'T TELL ANYONE!"

"Shh," went Ziggy, a finger to his lips. "Odds are that K at least is still awake, and your yelling might wake up everyone else!"

Dillon stared in panic at Ziggy who just grinned.

"Hey, I am the secret-keeping master! No worries."

Standing up, Ziggy stretched and yawned loudly.

"I know you don't need much sleep and all but could we go back to bed now? I'm _really_ tired."

"You didn't have to stay up with me," Dillon pointed out as he rose from his chair. Ziggy gave him a look he had received a lot from K and ergo had mastered.

"Yes I did."


	10. Chapter 10: Music

Haim Saban has taken back what is his! No disrespect to Disney, but he did have them first. Ergo, not mine. But my big vocabulary is coming in handy to write Dr. K.

I also don't own Brittany Spears. Or any music of the Proclaimers (an 80s music duo who were twins).

10: Music

"What are they doing?" asked Scott. For once Flynn was making lemonade slushies instead of fruit smoothies. Except they were _blue_ lemonade slushies in celebration of his morpher working properly again- thanks to what he did, not Dr K.

Walking over, Summer commented, "I'm not sure. And I'm also not sure if I want to know."

"I concur," chimed Dr. K as she left the lab to retrieve a bag of candy corn. Eying it Scott felt compelled to point out, "You're going to get cavities, you know."

"As long as I maintain a vigorous dental cleaning regime my teeth will remain intact, Ranger Red."

And she stalked off into her lab, sliding the door shut behind her. Flynn called after her, "Slamming is much more effective!"

Scott and Summer looked at him.

"What? To make a point, it is."

Opting not to enter a debate with the Blue Ranger the two returned to eying their remaining teammates.

"I think they've having a head-bobbing contest. I mean, they've been doing it for about an hour now."

Summer raised her eyebrows at him.

"Oh really?'

"What?" Scott defended himself. "I'm seeing you come up with a more plausible explanation."

"Hm…" Summer went to work on that.

"Maybe their minds have been taken over by Dr. K and they are now nodding in respond to the lengthy list of commands and instructions she's giving them."

"Dr. K was right here a minute ago!"

"Remote control," Flynn shrugged. Summer teased, "Flynn's idea is more viable than your idea."

"It does sound like something she would do," Scott sighed.

"I heard that!" her voice blared over the intercom. Flynn glowered up at the black object.

"You bugged the bloody kitchen again, didn't you?"

Aggravated he left off his slushie making to begin a search for the bug. Rubbing the back of her head Summer commented, "But I doubt it's her. She has a habit of annihilating any major problems. Subtlty is not her strong suit."

"Duh. Everyone except Ziggy knows she so digs him," Flynn joked. Scott and Summer had to smile at that.

"It's cute," Summer agreed. Scott looked at her askance.

"It's _weird_."

Running his hands under the counter edges and under the cabinets Flynn kept up his search for Dr. K's bug.

"WAIT A SECOND!" raged Dr. K over the intercom as it sank in what the three primary-colored Rangers were talking about. Scott grinned, "Anything you say will only be in support of our theory."

The intercom crackled off.

"Back to Ziggy and Dillon," Summer redirected the conversation back on topic, "what are they doing?"

"Communing with the mother ship," Scott joked, making Summer roll her eyes. Flynn reasoned, "Dillon is a cyborg and Ziggy is… well… Ziggy. I doubt they're aliens as well."

Scott shrugged.

"Maybe it's some kind of male bonding ritual," mused Summer. Scott conceded, "That might be it."

"Scott!" Flynn frowned, pausing in his scouring of the oven to check for the bug. He mock scolded the Red Ranger, "You have acknowledged the existence of male bonding rituals. Now you must pay the price."

"Uh-no," Scott commented, amused. Flynn tried to look diabolical and failed miserably.

"YOU MUST DO KARAOKE… OF A BRITTANY SPEARS SONG!"

Scott moaned in mock horror.

"Anything but that!"

Flynn just did an impressive evil laugh. Summer burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay, guys. Focus."

"Uh… if you want not to do the Brittany Spears karaoke you could finish my slushies for me while I keep searching for Dr. K's bug," Flynn offered before poking his head into the cereal cupboard. Amused, Scott went over to the slushie station, jokingly sticking one of Flynn's cute-sy paper umbrellas into his hair.

"They could be doing some kind of post-trauma aid thing," Summer puzzled. Scott made a noncommittal sound; Flynn said something but it was lost because he said it while halfway into a pots and pans cupboard.

"What?" went his teammates. Emerging, Flynn repeated himself.

"I said, Ziggy and Dillon _are_ each other's post trauma aid thingys. They don't need to do… whatever it is they're doing to recover from trauma."

"He has a good point," Scott commented over the sound of the blender he had just turned on. Summer sighed.

"Then what are they doing?"

"They're not talking," Scott noted.

"Aye," Flynn agreed. Summer looked down at him.

"How can you tell? You're in the middle of the fruits and veggies cupboard looking for a bug."

"Well, they haven't been talking so it stands to reason that they're still not talking," Flynn explained. Summer admitted, "Well, you're right there."

As he kept blending the ice for the slushies Scott stuck a second paper umbrella into his hair out of boredom.

"Maybe they're deliberately trying to confuse us."

Summer looked down at Flynn, who was now searching the baking supplies for the bug. He paused to meet her glance, and both then looked over at Scott.

"Nah."

"And why not?" Scott argued. Flynn commented, sifting through the flour can, "Well, neither of them are exactly good at that kind of manipulation. They're both too forward."

"Ziggy did fail at being a cartel member," Summer reminded Scott, who only scoffed, "That was because he's a decent guy."

Hastily he added, "Don't tell him I said that."

"Okay," Summer grinned.

"Where is that blasted bug?" Flynn grumbled, surrounded by pizza pans, cookie pans, cake molds, and… and a set of bagpipes?

"I don't want to know," Summer laughed. Scott suggested as he finished the slushies, "Maybe it's one of the fridge magnets."

Flynn and Summer looked at him oddly.

"Scott, that makes no sense," Summer informed him. Scott elaborated, "I wasn't talking about Ziggy and Dillon; I was talking about the bug!"

"A-ha!" Flynn proclaimed as he rushed over towards the fridge. "I have you now!"

"Maybe they're mediating," Summer narrowed her eyes at the pair.

Scott just snorted.

"Good point."

Having somehow obtained a magnifying glass Flynn was scrutinizing each and every magnet on the fridge.

"So what's your new idea on what they're doing?"

"Some kind of weird cure for Dillon's robotic implants. Something involving increased blood flow," Scott guessed as he got out three tall and narrow glasses.

Flynn let out a single triumphant word. Scott and Summer looked over at him.

"Pie?" they echoed in confusion. Flynn held up a hot pink magnet shaped like the number pi.

"No, pi. As in three point one four… and then a whole lot of other numbers."

Unable to resist Dr. K then rattled off that list of 'a whole lot of other numbers' up to the thirty-two mark.

"Listen to this," Flynn told Dr. K, speaking into the magnet.

"Are you sure it's the bug, Flynn?" Summer tried to slow him down. Flynn just displayed the tiny sound vents on it that clearly made it a bug.

"Okay then," Summer conceded. "Now what are you going to do with it?"

Leaning against the counter, Summer watched (and Scott left off his slushie pouring) to watch Flynn go over to the sink.

Smugly he dropped it into the garbage disposal and pressed the button. A loud grinding sound ensued. As he poured the blue lemonade slushies Scott remarked, "You have violent tendencies at times, Flynn."

He just shrugged as Scott gave him his glass of blue lemonade slushie.

"I'm a Power Ranger. They came with the morpher."

Scott toasted, "To whatever the heck Ziggy and Dillon are doing."

"Cheers," they chorused.

Clinking their glasses together, the three drank their slushies.

Meanwhile… in the Fury Dillon at last turned off the CD player. Ziggy instantly whimpered.

"It's a good song, Ziggy, but I can only listen to "500 Miles" so many times."

"Aw," Ziggy sighed, but he soon perked up.

"Hey, Dillon?"

"Yeah?"

"While we were listening to the song… what on Earth were our teammates doing?"

"I have no idea, and I'm not sure if I want to have an idea."

"True. But still…"


	11. Chapter 11: Prank

Hi, it's Pink Wolf Princess. Yes, this fanfic has returned. I just needed some time off to recover from "Music". Hard to trump that as far as I'm concerned.

Reviewers: thank yous to JasonTKD, hellsgate696, and milord-z 2.0. This one takes place around the episode "And… Action".

No, I don't own the Power Rangers.

**11: Prank**

Ziggy and Dillon were in stealth mode on the upper floor of the Garage. Yesterday Scott had gravely insulted Dillon's honor by making a joke involving the term "bubble boy". Clearly that warranted revenge.

Both were carrying several huge canvas bags that although stuffed to the brim were rather light. Thankfully the twins and Summer were playing pool, Scott was off 'discussing' something with his father, and Flynn was making dinner. Ziggy had inserted a loop in the video camera system but as a back-up he had snuck a sleeping pill into a chocolate brownie K had been about to eat as Dillon had distracted her long enough by saying 'spandex' for Ziggy to insert said pill. So K was conked out in front of her consol.

Silently they made their way to Scott's room where Ziggy picked the lock- one of the few skills he did master while part of the Scorpion Cartel. Then they went into action.

Two hours later Scott came back to the Garage, worn out after his visit with his father. Everyone else (including an oddly drowsy K) had already eaten some of Flynn's homemade mac and cheese so Scott grabbed a plateful before heading up the stairs.

Ziggy and Dillon were hanging out in the Fury, which had a perfect view of Scott's door. As Scott opened his door Ziggy pressed a button on a remote control he had on the dashboard.

Red feathers blew everywhere, covering Scott and the plate of mac and cheese. Spitting out feathers Scott managed to make his way into his room. The fan he had in his room was on, connected to a controlling device. It was making the thousands of red feathers in his room fly everywhere. Storming out of his room Scott yelled, "DILLON AND ZIGGY!"

The Black and Green RPM Rangers just shared a wide grin. And although Dr. K might have been just hiding a yawn, it might have been a smile too. The other Rangers didn't even bother, suspecting that they had just witnessed the beginning of a prank war.


	12. Chapter 12: Candy

This occurs during "Rain" when Ziggy & Dillon are still settling into the Garage. I hope you all enjoy although I don't own the Power Rangers!

**12: Candy**

It had been decided that Ziggy and Dillon would share a room. Okay, there were two spare rooms he could have slept in but one was for whoever would eventually become Ranger Green and the other was a back-up. For what, no one was really sure.

So Ziggy and Dillon were going to have to share a room. Neither minded.

Scott had told them to go up, unpack, and settle in. They had gone up, had had almost zilch to unpack, and had no idea how to settle in.

"We could take a picture of your car and put it on the wall?" Ziggy suggested. Dillon gave him a look. "The purpose of that being…?"

Ziggy sighed. "Why Dillon?"

"Why me what?" Dillon asked, confounded. Hadn't his day been long enough? He apparently was going to be running around in spandex trying to protect the last human city. But he had some of the technology of the very… thing that was trying to destroy the city inside him. And he had no idea of who he truly was. Again, hadn't his day been long enough?

"Why did you pick the name Dillon?"

"It was the first name that popped into my head, okay?"

"It's a good name for you," Ziggy commented softly. "How are you spelling it?"

"Say what?"

With a melodramatic eye roll Ziggy explained, "There are two ways to spell it. D-Y-L-A-N or D-I-L-L-O-N."

"The second one, I guess." Dillon tried it out on the dust on 'his' dresser. It looked okay. "Yeah, the second spelling."

"Huh."

Dillon gave Ziggy a look.

"It's just the first spelling means 'son of the sea' while the second spelling means 'faithful'. I got to admit, the second meaning fits you. You are faithful. I mean, you're searching for someone you can't even remember. I admire that. And you saved my bottom. Thanks for that."

Wanting to change the subject, Dillon asked, "And what, might I ask, does 'Ziggy' mean? Is it a nonsense word?"

"Hardly!" Ziggy replied proudly. "It's Slovakian for 'to get rid of anger'."

Dillon stared at his new friend. "You're kidding me, right?"

"No!"

Shaking his head Dillon sighed, "Considering what happened in the jail's cafeteria you might want to change your name to something that means something like 'fight provoker' or something like that."

Ziggy just made a face at the new Ranger Black.

Realizing he might have been a bit tactless and wanting to make amends Dillon dug out a lime-flavored lollipop and held it out towards Ziggy's side of the room. He really didn't want to get on the wrong side of his first friend- or at least the first friend he could remember.

"Lollipop?"

"Sure," Ziggy agreed. "Wouldn't be the first time I ruined my dinner by having a sweet. Thanks, Dillon."

"No problem," Dillon shrugged as Ziggy took the lollipop and unwrapped it.

Author's Note: Yes, I'm serious about the name meanings. You can double-check them if you want but I'm pretty sure I got them right. 

"To get rid of anger"… :)


	13. Chapter 13: TV

Hi. I do neither Power Rangers nor LOTR nor Star Wars nor X-men nor Flipper nor The Matrix nor Troy nor Percy Jackson nor ET. This one occurs at some point after "Ranger Yellow II".

Remember "Music"? Last night I spent 3 hours listening to "500 Miles" over and over again while reading Roger Ebert movie reviews. Sigh. I have problems (no, I own nothing but the plot bunny).

**13: TV**

"Why are we doing this again?" questioned Dillon. Ziggy snorted.

"It was this or _Star Wars_. And since _Lord of the Rings_ is three movies while _Star Wars_ is six-"

"Okay," Dillon rolled his eyes. "Let's get it over with."

"There are a TON of battles, don't worry," Ziggy assured his best friend as he pressed a button on the remote control. "This is going to be epic!"

Dillon was unimpressed by the Shire. Life could never be that picture-perfect, but when he tried to point this out to Ziggy the Green Ranger just shushed him, intently watching Gandalf the Grey (who looked a lot like Magneto to Dillon thanks to Flynn's obsession with the _X-men_ which he loved to share with his teammates) shoot off fireworks for the Hobbit children.

Near as Dillon could figure the Ring was a weird object that had the power to bend minds to its will. But how could a Ring have a will?

"It's magic," Ziggy stated when questioned, distracted by Gandalf's attempts to wean Bilbo from the Ring-with-a-capital-R. Apparently that was answer enough.

When Scott walked by he did a double take.

"Have the Nazgul showed up yet?" he asked.

"Bless you?" tried Dillon. Ziggy shook his head, having understood Scott's question.

"Not yet. Look."

On the screen Gandalf had just scared the wits out of Frodo… who looked a little like the boy from _Flipper_.

"I love the part when Sam-" Scott started, hopping over the back of the couch to sit on Dillon's other side but Ziggy interrupted, "Hey! Dillon's never seen the movie before!"

Dillon found out soon anyway. Sam had been 'accidentally' eavesdropping. So the two Hobbits left the Shire into the big bad Middle-earth.

"Are we done yet?" Dillon asked. Both Scott and Ziggy scoffed. Grinders.

Pippin and Merry, like a pair of Ziggy's, soon joined Frodo and Sam. Then came the Black Riders. Now, those guys were scary. If Venjix had attack-bots like that it would have taken it just a year to conquer Earth instead of four.

Nonetheless the Hobbits managed to make it to Bree unharmed. As the Hobbits talked with the innkeeper Flynn came by.

"Hey! It's Butterbur! I like him," he exclaimed, pulling over a chair. Sitting down he continued, "But even better is Strider."

"Strider!" cheered all three. Dillon looked at them all as if they were crazy.

After 'meeting' Strider Dillon changed his mind. Strider was epic. Things picked up speed from there.

Grabbing an ottoman just after the battle at Weathertop Summer commented, "Oh, my favorite character is about to show up!"

"Before or after?" Flynn warily questioned.

"Both!" Summer beamed crookedly. "Before it was shallow. Now… I can see her interior is just as amazing."

When someone held a sword to Strider's neck Dillon jumped slightly.

"How could **anyone** sneak up on Strider?"

"Elf," the others chorused.

Dillon wasn't quite sure what an elf was but kept his mouth shut anyway. Then an 'elf' proved to be a woman almost as hot as Summer and just as good with weapons and just as brave. That explained a lot.

In Rivendell a lot more became clearer about this whole the Ring and Sauron deal. The elf lord Elrond looked a little too much like Agent Smith from _The Matrix_ while the dwarf Gimli also looked familiar. Lucky Strider got to kiss Arwen (aka the hot elf princess). Gandalf was okay- which was a relief. Oh, and apparently Strider was the secret heir to the Gondor throne and his real name was Aragorn. Small wonder Dillon liked him.

But he didn't stay that way. A Balrog (seriously, if Venjix ever figured out how to create monsters like this he and the other Rangers would be doomed) and Gandalf both got destroyed in the Mines of Moria. But then everyone got to Lothlorien where there were more elves.

And was it just Dillon, or did Boromir look a lot like Odyssey in _Troy_ and Zeus in _Percy_ _Jackson_? Flynn and Ziggy were making him watch way too many movies.

Then, suddenly, the movie ended after a battle with Pippin and Merry getting kidnapped, Boromir dying, Legolas (who looked like Will Smith from those Pirates of the M movies) and Aragorn and Gimli opting to go after them, and meanwhile Frodo and Sam were heading off by themselves to Mordor.

"That's the end?" Dillon demanded. His four teammates snorted.

"Two more movies, remember?" Ziggy beamed, switching discs.

"Oh yeah."

Dillon was now almost as hooked as his teammates into believing in Middle-Earth. While Orcs attacked a village of Rohan Dr. K emerged from the lab just in time to hear a young girl protest that her brother wasn't supposed to ride the horse their mother was putting them on. Dr. K frowned at the girl.

"She looks familiar."

Ziggy paused the movie so everyone could study the girl.

"Yeah…" all five Rangers chorused. But no one could place her. Scratching the back of his head Scott tried, "Maybe she grows up to be an actress too. Like Drew Barrymore in _ET_."

Accepting that, the three guys on the couch made room for Dr. K so they could finish watching _The Two Towers_ so they could start watching _The Return of the King_.

"Hm, I wonder what's going to happen in the third movie?" Dillon joked. Ziggy just stuck his tongue out at him.


	14. Chapter 14: Zen

This is after "Handshake". Saban owns the Power Rangers, not me. Yes, I realize how short this is.

**14: Zen**

Although neither was asleep, not Dillon or Ziggy had spoken in over an hour- ever since they had gone up to their room. Both Rangers were lying on their respective beds. The light was off, leaving them in darkness. Each was waiting for the other to break the silence first.

But then it hit them, both at once. The silence didn't need broken. Just being together, hearing the other breathe, hearing the other shift slightly as he waited for sleep to come… that was more than enough.

A safe haven of sameness when everything they thought they had known had been overturned was what they formed when together. Sometimes just being alone together was enough.


	15. Chapter 15: Kindred Spirits

Disclaimer: Like I own the Power Rangers? Seriously… you'd know if I did. This one occurs before "Doctor K".

I bet you thought I had forgotten this fic, wot. Ha.

* * *

**15: Kindred Spirits**

"Ziggy!" Dillon sighed in exasperation with the Ranger Green. "Focus!"

"Sorry," he apologized, getting off the floor where he had been fake dying. The two of them were in the blaster practice room- a long, narrow place with targets and alleys for each target. Dillon was supposed to be helping Ziggy improve his aim but Ziggy seemed more interested with playing around.

"Come on, I'm trying to help you," Dillon grumbled. "But you're not helping me help you."

"Huh?"

"Never mind, let's just try again."

Ziggy looked dismayed. He whined, "Do I have to?"

"Yes!"

"But-"

"No buts," Dillon grumbled. "You can't keep shooting randomly… eventually you'll cause more trouble than you stop with that sort of tactic."

Muttering under his breath Ziggy picked up the practice blaster from the floor. As he pointed the blaster in the direction of a target he closed his eyes and let off four shots.

One landed in the floor, one landed in the ceiling, one landed in the alley wall, and one actually made it to the fringes of the target. Dillon raised his eyebrows.

"Do you actually do that every time you shoot?"

"Do what?"

"Close your eyes."

"I closed my eyes? No wonder it was so dark…"

"I'm probably going to regret this, but did the cartel ever let you carry a gun?"

"Nah."

"So they're not completely stupid… I'm not sure if that's reassuring or not."

Ziggy wondered, "Can I go now?"

"Nuh-uh," Dillon told his best friend. To himself he mused, "I guess with us having helmets on we wouldn't have noticed Ziggy closing his eyes whenever he shot his blaster."

"Is that bad?"

"It explains why your aim is so bad."

"Oh."

"Let me demonstrate," Dillon sighed, holding out his hand. Sheepishly Ziggy handed over the blaster. Taking position Dillon aimed the blaster and let off five shots, all of which landed in the bull's eye of the target. Ziggy gulped.

"I'll never be that good."

"Only if you never practice. Now this time try to keep your eyes _open_ when you shoot."

Licking his lips Ziggy took back the blaster. His eyes wide, he shakily raised the blaster and aimed it at the target. He pulled the trigger, letting off a pair of shots that landed in the target but nowhere near the bull's eye.

"That's much better; see? You have to have your eyes open while shooting. It improves your aim by a _lot_."

"I still stink."

"You'll stop stinking after a lot of practice," Dillon promised Ziggy. "I think we've made enough progress on the blaster for today… now we need to work on you not getting the Turbo Axe wedged into any more car windows."

As he followed Dillon out of the blaster practice room Ziggy muttered to himself, "Get an axe stuck in a car window five separate times and that's all people remember- and not all the times when you didn't get an axe in a car window!"


	16. Chapter 16: Sleepover

Hi. This is post "Rain", and shows Ziggy and Dillon on their first night as roomies in the Garage. It was edited by talkstoangels77.

No, I do not own the Power Rangers. Yes, I'm sure you all thought this fic was gone. Apparently the plot bunnies have revived it. Did anyone else know plot bunnies could do that?

* * *

**16: Sleepover**

"That was awesome; I didn't know one person could defeat all those Grinders!" Ziggy kept chattering about the day's battle but Dillon tuned the other guy out. He still wasn't sure what or how he had gotten into this mess. But he had, and he supposed he would have to make the best of it.

And for better or for worse he and Ziggy now shared a bedroom. Apparently the others had decided that the scrawny brunette was Dillon's responsibility. The worst part was that Dillon probably would have taken Ziggy on anyway. Heck, he already had considering how Ziggy was the condition to Dillon becoming a Ranger.

Happily bouncing up and down on his new bed Ziggy paused suddenly.

"Dillon?"

"Yeah?" Dillon sighed as he grabbed some pajamas to change into. It had been a long day. Ruffling his hair awkwardly Ziggy stated, "Thanks for… you know, everything."

Dillon smirked. "Whatever."

"I mean it!" Ziggy argued, kicking uneasily at his severely rumpled blanket. Dillon shook his head, repeating, "Whatever."

As he left for the guys' bathroom Dillon heard Ziggy flop down onto his bed behind him. And then he threw his pillow at him, which Dillon dodged easily. Well, at least Ziggy would liven up this goody-goody garage.

When Dillon returned, Ziggy was conked out under the blanket. Apparently in the short time it took for Dillon to brush his teeth and change into black sweatpants and a T-shirt the other guy had had a sugar crash. With a soft chuckle Dillon snuck under his own blanket once he had turned off the lights.

To fall asleep hearing Ziggy across the room breathing and occasionally shifting into a more comfortable position was nice. It was a reminder that he wasn't alone anymore.


End file.
